Page 16 of One Touch

While we sunbathed, couples gathering sea glass or children running along the water passed. A few kids raced down the massive dunes behind us. Coastal Michigan was a lakeside paradise that felt more and more like a hidden gem.

“That’s the Miller place, right?” Annie squinted against the sun as she pointed to a looming beach house in the distance.

“Yep.” The multimillion-dollar home was a hideous eyesore jutting out from the bluff. Its sharp lines and harsh features warred with the soft sand and tall trees that had yet to succumb to erosion and time. I hated that house and everything that had happened inside. Shame burned my cheeks.

“Are you worried that Declan will come around now that Beckett will be staying a while?”

My stomach pitched. “I would prefer it if you referred to him by the name Epic Douchebag.”

That earned me a laugh from Annie as I tried to focus on the rolling waves and not the nausea that simmered in my belly.

How had I been so stupid?

I shrugged. “Declan always hated it here.”

“Is that why you never really spent holidays here?”

I nodded. “The Millers only see that house as an investment property. Once the boys got older, they stopped coming.”

“Is it weird for you? For his brother to be working on the house?”

I rolled to my stomach to rest my head on my arms and looked at Annie. Her copper curls were piled on her head, and a scarf tied it all up in an effortlessly chic updo. My wild messy bun was moving in the breeze.

“Beckett is exactly like I remember—cold, quiet, and detached.” I gestured to their vacation home in the distance. “That house is perfect for him. Plus, Bartleby hates him, and he’s an excellent judge of character.”

Annie let out a deep sigh. “That’s too bad.” She peeked out of one eye. “Because that man is asnack.”

I swatted Annie’s arm. “Stop! That’s so wrong.”

Annie laughed. “Oh come on. Don’t tell me you never noticed that Beckett Miller isfine.”

I rolled my eyes. “Well, of course Inoticed. But he was my boyfriend’s brother, and Declan never had a kind word to say about him.” I lifted a finger. “Things, I might add, that are proving to actually be true.”

Annie tipped an eyebrow. “You know he’s not your boyfriend’s brother anymore ...”

I shook my head. “Yeah, he’s myex-boyfriend’s brother. That’s even worse. It doesn’t matter if he’s hot, he’s still an asshole.”

Annie fiddled with her phone before tipping it toward me. “Well, that’s not what the internet thinks. They think his hotness mattersa lot.”

I shielded the screen from the sunlight and willed my eyes to focus. Apparently my Brutish Builder post was gaining momentum. The photo of him, strong and silhouetted by the window, had already gotten hundreds of likes and had garnered a slew of new followers demanding updates on the old farmhouseandthe mysterious man by the window.

“Oh my god, he would hate this.” A giggle threatened to bubble up from my chest. “This is perfect.”

“Maddy494 thinks you should bang him. So do the other fifty-two people who liked her comment.”

I scrunched my nose, but a tingle bunched in my belly at the thought of Beckett and me naked.Having sex. I shook my head. “No way. Besides, Duke would lose his mind. Do you remember how he went apeshit after he found out his friend Billy Dunley kissed me in the seventh grade?”

Annie and I laughed, remembering how Duke still scowled at poor Billy Dunley when he saw him around town.

“But ... if the internet wants more Brutish Builder, they’re gonna get it.”

Annie clicked off her phone and plopped it on the towel next to her. “Just make sure you get some shots of him all sweaty and dirty. You know ... for the fans.”

I laughed and winked at my friend. “I’ll see what I can do.”

SIX

BECKETT

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